Prosecutor says neighbor killed Braintree man over money

Thursday

Jul 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2009 at 11:07 PM

A Braintree man faces murder charges after the discovery of his neighbor’s body in Connecticut at about 2 a.m. Thursday. Lucas E. Walters, 28, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with killing Jeffrey Adam Phillips, who was reported missing by his family Monday.

Fred Hanson

A Braintree man hit his neighbor in the head with an ax when he refused to lend him money, a prosecutor said in Quincy District Court on Thursday.

Lucas E. Walters, 28, is being held without bail after his arraignment on a murder charge.

Prosecutor Robert Nelson said Walters killed Jeffrey A. Phillips, 31, Friday after the two men, who live in separate apartments at 391 Middle St., argued over money. Phillips’ body was found at about 1:20 a.m. Thursday in woods in Suffield, Conn., more than 110 miles from Braintree. Phillips’ family reported him missing Monday.

Walters sobbed in court Thursday as Nelson described the evidence against him. Walters told police that he and Phillips began fighting after Phillips refused to lend him more money. He said that Phillips picked up a rake and began hitting him with it, so he picked up an ax and hit Phillips in the head and back, according to police.

Walters told police he put Phillips' body in a shed in the backyard and waited until Sunday to drive it to Connecticut and dump it in the woods. During the weekend, Walters allegedly stole several things from Phillips’ apartment, including a flat-screen TV, an Xbox game system and a laptop computer. Police said that after dumping the body, Walters crossed back over the Massachusetts border, sold the stolen items and then bought crack cocaine in Springfield before returning home to Braintree.

Walters agreed to talk with police Wednesday night.

Police continued to search Phillips’ apartment and the yard outside the house, which has three apartments in it, Thursday.

None of Phillips’ family or friends had heard from him since Friday night, when he said he was going to walk to a nearby gas station to buy cigarettes, said Chad Brandolini, a friend and co-worker at Vater Percussion in Holbrook.

Phillips had talked on the phone with a friend and his mother from his home at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, Brandolini said.

“Jeff had plans to meet his mother Saturday morning, but was never heard from,” Brandolini said.

Phillips didn’t show up for work Monday, which was also unusual for him, he said.

“Even when he’s sick, he comes in and toughs it out,” Brandolini said.

Friends and family contacted media outlets Wednesday for help in seeking information about Phillips’ whereabouts, and put up posters around the neighborhood offering a $1,000 reward for the information.

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